Engine-cranker mechanism.



W. W. OWEN.

ENGINE ORANKER MECHANISM.

APPLICATION FILED 00'1.B. 1909.

4 BHBET8-SHEET 1.

wihmooe Patented Sept. 13,1910.

W. W. OWEN.

ENGINE URANKER MECHANISM.

APPLICATION FILED 0012a. 1909.

Patented Sept. 13, 1910.

4 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

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W. W. OWEN.

ENGINE .GRANKER MECHANISM.

APPLICATION FILED 00T.8. 1909.

970,261 Patented Sept. 13,1910.

4 SHEETS-SHEET 3.

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ENGINE GRANKER MECHANISM. APPLIUATION FILED OCT-8, 1909.

970,261 Patented Sept. 13, 1910.

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UNITED STATESPATENT OFFICE.

WALTER W. OWEN, OF YOUNGSTOWN, OHIO.

ENGINE-CRANKER MECHANISM.

Specification of Letters Patent. Patented Sept, 13, Application filed October 8,

1909. Serial No. 521,720.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, WVALTER WV. OWEN, a citizen of the United States, residing at Youngstown, in the county ofMahoning 'tion is illustrated in the accompanying drawings, wherein Figure 1 1s a side elevation of an autolilOblle, showin the starter in place thereon. Flg. 2 is an end elevation of said starter, the same being shown on an enlarged, scale. Fig. 3 is aside elevation of the same. Fig. 4 is a view opposite to that illustrated in Fig. 2. Fig. 5 is a horizontal sectional view.

Fig. (5 is a sectional viewon the line 6-6 of Fig. 5. Figs. 7 and 8 are sectional views onthe line 7 7 of Fig. 5, showing thecontroller for the winding mechanism in its two positions. Fig. 9 is a detail sectional view on the line 9,-9 of Fig. 8. Fig. 10 is a detail sectional view on the line 1010 of Fig. 9.

Like references designate corresponding parts in the several figures of the drawings. In the embodiment disclosed, the starting apparatus is illustrated on an automobile,

designated generally by the reference numeral 9, though it will be understood that it may be employed in connection with an explosive engine of any character, regardless.

,the engine.

of its position or use. The engines are shown indotted lines, and desi nated' 10, and the shaft 11 connects the starting apparatus with Supported by suitable brackets 13, underneath' the machine and'at one side of the, axle, is the'starting apparatus; This apparatus'ispreferably provided with a pair-of supporting plates or standards 14', in whichis journaled a driving shaft 15 having a. bevel orother' ear connection lflwith the engine shaft. clutch 17 is preferably .em-

ployed to permit the shaft 11 to revolve under the impulse of the engines, without 1mparting motion to the shaft 15, but said shaft 15 transmitting motion to the shaft 11 through the gears 16, as hereinafter explained. I

Fixed to the shaft 15 is a main driving.

wheel 18 having a peripheral rim 19 that houses a coiled motor spring 20, the outer end of which is secured, as shown at 21, to

said wheel. The inner end of they spring is fixed to the hub 22 of a sleeve 23 that is rotatable on the shaft, and secured to the opposite end of this sleeve is'a ratchet wheel 24 having a peripheral series of ratchet teeth 25., 4 I

A winding wheel 26 is loosely journaled on the sleeve 23, and carries a spring pressed pawl or dog 27 that engages with the ratchet teeth 25 of the wheel 24. Said wheel 26 is in the form of a beveledgear, as illustrated at 28, and meshing with this gear is a beveled pinion 29 fixed to the front end of a tubular shaft 30 that extends rearwardly, and has mounted thereon a slidable beveled pinion 31, which pinion, however, cannot rotate on said shaft The pinion 31 is movable into and out of mesh with a gear 32 secured to the rear axle 12.

As a'result of the above construction, it will beevident that if the automobile is in operation, and the gear '31 is in mesh with the gear 32, the winding wheel 26 will be rotated and through the dog and ratchet connection, the sleeve 23 will be revolved, thus winding the spring 20. To prevent the retrograde rotation of the ratchet wheel 24, under the impulse of the spring 20, a dog or pawl 33 is employed that is mounted on one of' the standards 14, as shown in dotted lines in Fig; 3, and engages an internal series of ratchet teeth 34 formed on the ratchet wheel.

It will be obvious that, the indefinite winding of the spring 20 cannot take .place, without injuring or breaking the'mechanism, and means are therefore I provided for automatically stoppingthe winding action when the spring has been placed under sufficient tension. This mechanism is preferably-as follows! A swingingeontrollmg arm 35 is journaled upon the hub of the winding wheel 26, and has a link connection 36'with a.

.reciprocatory rod 37, that extends longitudin'ally through thetubular shaft 30, and has:

secured to its end ayoke 38. projecting through slots 39 in said shaft, and secured to .the gear whee131. It will therefore be 0bvious that if the arm 35 is movedv upwardly,

' the gear wheel 31 will be disengaged from the driving gear 32, and on the other hand,

38. The arm 35 is urged upwardly by a spring 41 that bears against 1t, said spring being located .in a tubular link 42, hereinafter described. The arm .35, is, however,-

normally held in its lowermost position by a swinging retaining plate 43 having an outstanding flange 44 at its upper end, beneath which the upturned terminal45 of the arm' is normally disposed. The plate 43 is autop lever. 56 is moved forwardly and the rock shaft 52 consequently turned, the arm 57 v matically moved back and forth by a cam track 46 secured to the innerface of the winding wheel, 26, the ends of this camtrack being overlapped and spaced apart, as shown in Figs. 7 and 8, and said cam trackoperating between a seriesof teeth 47 formed upon the upper end of the plate43 on the opposite side of the flange 44, these teeth being shown particularly in Fig. 5.

The operation of the above described portion of the structure issubstantially as follows: Assuming the upturned end 45 of the arm 35 beneath the flange 44, the gear 31 will be in mesh with the gear 32, as already described, and consequently, if the machine is in motion, the winding wheel 26 will be rotated, thus winding .the spring. As said Winding wheel 26 revolves, the cam track 46' successively entering the spaces between the teeth 47 will cause theplate 43 to swing inwardly until it passes rom over the upturnedend 45 ofthe arm 35, thereupon the spring 41 acts to raise said arm 35, and consequently Withdraw the beveled gear 31 from .the beveled gear 32 against the tension of' the spring 40, thereby stopping the winding action, and leavin the spring 20 wound.

In order to e ect the winding of the spring, it will be obvious that the wheel 19 I must be held againstrotation, and this is accomplished by means-of a band brake 48 that surrounds the rim of said wheel, and has its ends connected to a lever 49 fulcrumed between 'its ends, as illustrated at- 50. A spring 51 enga ed with the lever, normally holds the ban 48 in its clamping position, but said lever can be moved to release the wheel 19. To this end, a rock shaft 52 is employed havin a crank arm 53 that engages the offset en 54 of a link 55 pivoted to the lever 49. The rock shaft has a handle lever 56, and therefore if this lever is moved from its normal rearmost position forwardly, the crank arm 53 will swing rearwardly, pulling upon the link 55 and turning the lever 49 against the tension of the spring 51, thereby loosening the band 48, and permitting the wheel 19 to rotate under the action of the spring 20. This rcsults in the rotation of the shaft 1.5, which transmits motion through the beveled gears 16 toshaft 11, and effects its initial rota tion.' It will be remembered, however, that the controlling arm 35 in the above description, was left in its uppermost position, as shown in Fig. 7, and it becomes necessary to lower it and effect the return of the holding plate 43-to the position shown substantially .in F ig. 8, in order that the spring may be automatically rewound. This is done by the following means: Secured to the rock shaft 52 is a crank arm 57 to which the link 42 is pivoted, and said link hasslots 58, through which passes a pin 59 carried by the arm 35. When, therefore, the handle moves forwardly, carrying the link 42 in a corresponding direction, and therefore through the medium of. the in 59, the arm 35 will be depressed. The ange 44 of the plate 43 must now be carried over said depressed arm plate, and this is accomplished by automatically rotating the winding Wheel 26 inthe reverse direction to which 'it is rotated through the driving shaft 30 and gear wheel 31. This reverse rotation is obtained by means of a beveled gear 60 journa'led on an arm 61 that is carried by the rock shaft 52, a spring 63 being preferably arranged to bear against said arm. The gear wheel 60 is movable into mesh with the teeth 28 of the winding Wheel 26, and likewise into mesh with oppositely disposed gear teeth 64 on the Wheel 19.

Assuming the parts in the position illustrated in Fi 7, and the sprin wound, if now the han le lever 56 is move forwardly, the wheel 19 is unbraked, as. already dis closed, and will rotate under the action of the spring 20. At the same time that the brake band is loosened by the said movement of the handle lever, the idler gear 60 is brought into mesh with the teeth 64 of said wheel 19, and the teeth 28 ofthe wheel I 26. Consequently said wheel 26 is .rotated in the opposite direction to that given'by the gear wheel 31, the shaft 30 and gear wheel'29, and the cam track will cause the return movement of the plate 43. As already explained, the arm 35 has been depressed by the forward movement of the handle'lever, and consequently the flange 44 of said plate 43 will move over the upturned end 45 of said arm 35. This would of course result'in permitting-the spring 40 to act and force the beveled gear 31 into mesh with its driving gear 32 on the rear axle, but it will be obvious that this must not be done, as it would result in the shaft 30 and gear wheel 29 rotating'upon the winding wheel 26 in opposition to the-idler gear 60. To prevent this, a holding yoke 65 is movable the rock shaft.

into and out of binding engagement with the rod 37, and has a connection 66 with Therefore, when the rock shaft moves forwardly to accomplish the above cycle of movements, the yoke 65 is elevated, and will bind upon the rod 37, so that although the arm 1 is depressed, the spring 40 cannot act to' orce the beveled gear 31 rearwardly untilthe handle lever is moved again to its rearmost position to brake the wheel 19 after the cranking operation has been completed. The upper end of the yoke 65 has a slidable interlocking engagement with a fra1ne-piece 67.

To recapitulate and describe the operation of the mechanism generally: If the spring 20 is wound and the engine is at a standstill, to start said engine, the operator has only to move the lever 56 forwardly, thereby releasing the wheel 18, and permitting the,

' s ring to act and rotate saidwheel. Thus rearwardly into mesh with the gear wheel t e beveled gear connections 16 rotate the shaft 11, and consequently crank the engins. The operator then swings the lever rearwardly to its normal position. When this has been done, the gear wheel 31 moves 32 on the rear axle, and the rewinding of the When rewound, the

plained,-leaving the apparatus 111 condition to recrank the engine whenever desired.

' From the foregoing, it is thought that the construction, operation, and many advantages of the herein descrlbed invention will be apparent to those skilled in the art, with out further description, and it will be understood that various changes in the size, shape, proportion and minor details of construction may be resorted to without departing fro -t-he spirit'or sacrificing any of the advantages of the invention.

I claim:

1. In engine cranking mechanism, the combination with a motor member, of winding means therefor including a winding member movable in opposite directions, means for moving the winding member in one direction to wind the motor member, means normally controlled by the winding member and released thereby when said winding member reaches a. predetermined position for stopping such winding movement, and means operated by the motor member for moving the winding member in an opposite direction to again place said winding member in control of the said stopping means.

2. In engine cranking mechanism, the combination with a shaft, of a main drivin wheel fixed thereto, afbrake for holding an releasing the main driving wheel, a spring connected to the main driving wheel,a sleeve journaled on the shaftand connected to the spring, a ratchet wheel fixed to the sleeve,

combinationwith a motor member, of winding means therefor including a winding member movable in opposite directions, means for moving the winding member; in

one direction to wind the motor member,

means normally controlled by the' windin member and released thereby when sai winding member reaches a predetermined position for stopping such winding movement, and gearing for transmitting motion from the motor member to the winding member to move said winding member in an opposite direction and again place the same in control of the said stopping means, said gearing including elements that are movable into and out of mesh with each other.

4. In engine cranking mechanism, the combination with a motor member, of a winding wheel therefor, rotatable in opposite directions, automatic means'forrotating the winding wheel in one direction to wind the motor member, means automatically controlled by the winding wheel to stop its movement, means for holding and releasing the motor member, and means controlled by the holding and releasing means to reset said automatic cont-rolling means and effect the rotation of the winding wheel .in an opposite direction.

5. In engine cranking mechanism, the combination with a motor member, of a site directions, means cared to the w eel for rotatingit in one direction to wind the motor member, means automatically controlled by the winding wheel to throw said rotating means out of gear and stop the movement of the windin' wheel, means for holding and releasing t e motor member,

and means controlled by the holding and releasing means to gear together the motor and winding wheel and throw the rotating means for said winding wheel into condition toagain operate.

6. In engine cranking mechanism, the combination with a motor member, of 'a winding wheel therefor, driving means for the winding wheel includin'ga shiftable gear, a s ring operated arm for shifting the gear, an operated by the winding wheel.

7. In engine cranking mechanism, the combination with a driving member, of a sprin for operating the same, a winding whee for the sprin means for rotating the winding wheel inc uding a shiftable member, aspring actuated arm for shifting the member, a swinging controlling device that winding wheel therefor rotatable in o poa controlling device for the arm wheel. for the spring rotatable in opposite directions, means for rotating the wheel in one direction, including a shiftable device, a spring a'ctuatedoperating member for the shifting device, means actuated by the windactuate ing' wheel for controlling the shifting of said operating member, and means for gearing together the driving member and the winding wheel.,

'9, In engine cranking mechanism, the combination with a driving member, of .a spring for rotating the same, a winding wheel for the s ring, means for holding and releasin the riving member, and means by said holding and releasing means to gear together and ungear the driving member and winding wheel.

' 10. In engine cranking mechanism, the combination with a'main driving wheel, of a spring connected thereto, a winding wheel for the spring, a band brake fol-the driving wheel, a lever connectedto the brake, and a gear for connecting and disconnecting the riving wheel and winding wheel, said gear being connected to and operating with the lever.

11. In engine cranking mechanism, the

combination with a main'driving wheel, of

a spring for operating the same, a winding wheel for the spring, means for rotating the winding wheel in one direction, including a shiftable gear, means for shifting the gear, a controller for the shifting means actuated by the winding wheel, a band brake for the driving wheel, and means connected to the i band brake for operating the same, said means being also connected to the shifting.

means.

v 12. In engine cranking mechanism, the combination with a main driving wheel, of a spring connected thereto, a ratchetwheel connected to the spring, a winding wheel having a dog that engages the ratchet wheel, a driving shaft geared to the winding wheel and having a shiftable gear, a swinging arm connected to the shiftable gear, a swinging controller that engages the arm and is provided with teeth, a cam track on the winding wheel engaging the teeth, a band brake, a

rock shaft having connections with the band- 

